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Pursuant to Ind.Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

FILED
Dec 30 2009, 9:32 am
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

CLERK

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: JAMES R. REED Morocco, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: GREGORY F. ZOELLER Attorney General of Indiana IAN MCLEAN Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
MICHAEL J. PAYNE, Appellant-Defendant, vs. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee-Plaintiff. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 45A05-0711-CR-627

APPEAL FROM THE LAKE SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable Diane Ross Boswell, Judge Cause No. 45G03-0506-MR-5

December 30, 2009 MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION FRIEDLANDER, Judge

Michael James Herbert Payne appeals his conviction of Murder,1 a felony. Payne claims he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial in that counsel did not properly raise a claim of self-defense. We affirm. In the early morning hours of February 20, 2004, Payne met his girlfriend of eight months, Jessalyn Bloodsaw, at Bloodsaws apartment in Gary, Indiana. Payne was upset with Bloodsaw and questioned her about their relationship, as he had done earlier that morning. They argued in Bloodsaws bedroom. When Bloodsaw hugged Payne in an attempt to calm him down, the couple fell onto the bed and a gun came out of Paynes pocket. Payne put the gun into the pouch of his hooded sweatshirt and continued to argue with Bloodsaw, eventually becoming physically aggressive toward her. During the argument, Bloodsaws cell phone rang several times. The calls were from Ralph Russell, Bloodsaws ex-boyfriend and the father of her child,2 with whom her child was staying the night. Payne answered the phone twice, angrily telling Russell to call Bloodsaw back later. Russell called at least one more time with no answer. After his unsuccessful attempts to speak with Bloodsaw, Russell called a friend, Tony Jackson, around 4:00 a.m. and asked for a ride over to Bloodsaws apartment. Upon arriving at the apartment, Jackson parked on the street and stayed in the car while Russell walked up to the door, which would not open. Russell threw a snowball at Bloodsaws second-story

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Ind. Code Ann.

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